2026 National Urban Rat Summit

The City of Boston will host the second annual 2026 National Urban Rat Summit on September 23–24, 2026

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This summit will convene cities, academic researchers, and public health professionals from across the country and around the world to advance practical, data-driven strategies to reduce urban rat populations.

Summit Overview

Where: Boston Massachusetts
When: September 23rd or 24th

Reach out to rats@boston.gov with any questions!

Invited to the summit?

2026 Focus Areas

Building on the momentum of the 2024 National Urban Rat Summit, the 2026 Summit will highlight practical solutions cities can put into action right away. From containerization and waste-system reform to technology-enabled monitoring, the focus is on strategies that reduce rodent populations and improve daily life for residents.

Themes for this summit:

Rodenticides & Birth Control Studies
Sewers & Underground Systems
Problem Locations and Challenging Sites
Trash Management
Importance of Data & Emerging Tools
Communication, Coordination & Interagency Collaboration

Apply To Present

We are inviting peer Cities and academic researchers to submit research proposals and presentations focused on advancing urban rat mitigation to be presented at the 2026 Summit!

Topics for presentations include:

Innovative Rat Control Methods & the Role of Data to inform decisions and assessments
Waste Infrastructure & Trash Management Improvements
High-Risk and Complex Environments
Governance & Cross-Agency Collaboration

Selected presenters will share applied research, pilot programs, and scalable models that other cities can replicate.

Click below to submit your abstract, presenter information, and session format preference.

👉 Submit Your Application Here

Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026
Notification of acceptance: June 1, 2026